Publican

"Publican" is the name preferred by the GEO and the newcomer scientific community for Telonaria vulgaris, one of Poseidon's more hated parasites. (The deprecated native name is still reflected in related species, such as the Northwestern reeflock and Dolphin Sea lock.) By any name, publicans are Poseidon's best-known species of pharyngeal fish; over evolutionary history its jaws have developed so asymmetrically that its lateral jaws are now entirely recessed inside the dorsoventral ones, although they can be extended some distance from the publican's body. This gives publicans a long face superficially like that of a terrestrial fish, with prominent jowls of connective tissue extending from the cheeks.

Publicans are crepuscular, active primarily at twilight in good weather while avoiding both total darkness and bright light. They are known to be active well beyond these times on overcast days or during light storms; reports of publican attacks on moonlit nights are widespread but poorly documented. Despite their deprecated native name, publicans are not shy, and display considerable curiosity about objects in their environments.

A publican attacks by opening its mouth shockingly wide, extending the pharyngeal jaws, and using them to bite before retracting them and slamming its mouth shut. The force of this distinctive two-stage bite is often enough to pulverize a fish or crush a hard spurt; on larger targets, publican bites have been known to remove up to half a kilogram of tissue and involve underlying musculature.

Faced with something inedible too large to swallow whole, such as humans, cetaceans, remotes, or inflatable hulls, a publican usually breaks off the attack after one bite. The scars left by a publican bite are distinctive, and often visible on every large marine animal and structure within several kilometers of its habitat.